The Mets defeated the Braves late Thursday, then flew cross country to land in Los Angeles around 5 a.m. ET.

They’ll begin a three-game series against the Angels at 10:05 p.m. ET on Friday.

Man, what a weird life? I realize they get paid well to do it, so I have no sympathy, it’s their job, but it’s still weird. It’s not normal, to say the least…

I expect Josh Satin to start tonight. I have no idea who will be the DH, but I assume it will be Lucas Duda or Ike Davis. In either case, this series will be a good opportunity to get Duda and Davis in the lineup together and the same time for a couple of games, hopefully generate a bit more offense and maybe get a strong look at what they have going on. So, when they ditch the DH in a few days, management can make a true decision on what they’re doing at first base…

Lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t connect playing the Angels with the last time the Mets were in their ballpark, which is the day they fired Willie Randolph and Rick Peterson at midnight (west coast time) after the game. That was a crazy time. Willie had been circling the drain for weeks…

I still think he’d be a good manager some place. He was so smart and passionate. He loves the game. New York just wasn’t the right place for him, not Queens or the Bronx. He’s too connected here, he knows the experience, pressure, media expectations, etc., and he always struck me as way too paranoid and self-aware to succeed in the spotlight. As a player, he was never the main guy. As manager, he was. He just wanted to coach his team, throw BP and win. Interviews, multiple pre-game press conferences, a dozen reporters with a dozen agendas, etc., it clearly was just a gigantic nuisance for him. I’m sure it is for most managers, but he just didn’t seem to handle it well when the team started losing. It’s a shame.

I’d love to see him get another shot some place, hopefully in a quieter market.

Just a question Matt- you said Sating was likely to start, with either Duda or Ike as the DH. But coming into the series, my impression was that it would make more sense for Satin to play first base with Andrew Brown at DH, just to get more righties in the lineup and have a pair of lefty bats that can pinch-hit late in games. Was this a matter of you hearing otherwise? I just don't understand why Terry wouldn't want as many righties in the lineup as possible, especially against Skaggs: lefties have a .579 OPS in 54 career PAs against Skaggs, while righties have a .772 OPS in 278 PAs. Quite a significant split.

Please, let's not romanticize the past. Willie was a bad manager. Nice guy, but played the wrong guy often, used the bullpen poorly, and didn't inspire confidence. Collins is way, way better by comparison.

What did Randolph ever do to earn a manager's job with the Mets? Nothing. He thought that sitting on the same bench with Torre was enough experience. The guy was either arrogant or stupid. Probably both.

Why is this fair? If the Mets were to be playing the Dodgers then it would make a little more sense because it's a divisional game,but a meaningless April interleague game against the Angels? Why should the Mets have to travel all the way out just for that with no off day in the middle? Its absurd and the Mets should not have to do this.

Willie and Omar were a disaster. Willie was in way over his head. Omar was incompetent plain and simple, he could not run a lemonade stand properly. I have never saw anyone waste more money in any type of business, that includes Brian Cashman.

Willie was a little rigid and didn't do much to help himself in '07, but his biggest problem was that he did not have the full support of ownership and everyone in the clubhouse knew it. He was allegedly "Omar's guy," but that didn't stop the players Omar signed from undermining him. Under these circumstances, Omar made a huge mistake keeping him on after the '07 disaster -- it was obvious that the team would not win for him and that the toxic dynamic in the organization was not going to change. Had Manuel started the '08 season, they would have made the playoffs.

But Omar's worst moment as GM was his handling of Willie's dismissal in '08. Very, very weak performance.

Seems odd that Terry Collins has had a chance to manage 3 different teams w/o having any success, yet Willie could never find another job as manager despite a relatively successful stint in his only opportunity.

It is a sad situation that the Mets have become beyond irrelevant. My biggest hope for this team is that Alderson stops trying to convince anyone who will listen that the team has some kind of chance this year and, for that matter, next year. I'd prefer he finally do what is really necessary and use the somewhat valuable pieces he does have and obtain as much talent as he can to make this team relevant in 2016. So when July rolls around and the Mets are sucking wind, if Neise, Gee and anyone else over 25 has value to a real contender, Alderson should have a real garage sale and bring in as much young talent as possible, hoping something pans out. The Mets need everyday players and more big arms desperately. The comparisons of the Mets to the Cardinals, Giants, and whoever else actually wins is more window dressing. The Mets are no closer to winning than the last few years. Even the Marlins understand you can't keep running out the same mediocre players and hope to win. The Mets need to add hope. Is Daniel Murphy or (can't even think of a decent player to add) the future?

we need to move Grandy out of cleanup he is not a cleanup hitter . i understand why others want Wrght to bat 3rd but he is the closes player in talent to handle cleanup so its easier to find a ok 3rd plae hitter . Grandy needs to bat 2nd or 6st he is paid too much to be in 6-8th but who knows I believe in him but he needs to get out of cleanup but for whom you heard my vote.

I fly around the country every week. I know they make a lot of money, but when you get on the field and you are not really sharp, it's not the optimum condition.. But, that's why you send your starting pitcher out early and the guys still trying out for a starting slot (i.e., first base), need to suck it up and deliver. We need warriors out there and not a bunch of guys making excuses. The Mets have played hard so far this year and it has been fun to watch each game. They need to keep it up and continue to bring it to the opposing team.

This first base thing has to end. Ike has looked very good this season. He seems under control and very focused. If he played everyday, he would have the greatest potential. This organization needs to commit to him or get another first baseman altogether from someplace else. We know the ceiling on Duda, and he is an inferior first baseman. Satin has been up 5 times, 4 k's and one BB. Enough of him.

Those poor guys. They have to fly 1st class. Eat the best food. Go to sunny California to play a kids game and have boat loads of money in the bank. BOO HOO. Cry the blues to the workin stiffs who work for a living trying to make ends meet.

The market was not the problem, it was his employers. Shockingly, we still avoid that topic even though clear evidence exists the same dementia that existed 5, 6, 10, 15 years ago still exists today, by virtue of a conversation that Alderson had with the owners making its way to the press. So who do we really think lets these closed door conversations leak out? Given that the only name that remains the same from 1986 to 2014 is "Wilpon", we can stop there.

Andrew Brown could DH tonight with a LHP on the mound. Also while Ike and Duda will both be in the lineup tomorrow with Weaver on the mound, LHP Wilson starts the finale so I doubt Ike and Duda would both be in the lineup and you might not even get either.

I must disagree and offer my opinion that Willie Randolph was NOT a smart manager ... he was inept at the double switch early in his first season, to the point that it was clear he just did not understand it. Would a 'smart' manager begin a National League season without having honed the approach so at least the strategy was understood, if not perfected?

He seemed like a nice guy but managing might be more than his best skillset ...

Now, there's Jerry Manuel ... if not for Jerry, I would not end every email I send to one of my best Mets buddies with: 'Time Will Tell" ... now there's a legacy!

Talkin bout Willie is like bringing back 69,73,86,00. It's old news does not pertain to the mess we have today. Willie would not win with this group and neither would Gil Hodges for that matter. This team will play like it does --about .440-.475 until it is allowed to improve. It will play well at times but mostly not. Until the horses are brought in, it will be status quo. It is what it is.

and im suppose to have sympathy for guys who make assanine amounts of money to play a kids game?....because they have to go in an airplane for a few hours to go play baseball in california?they may be tired and cranky?give it a rest......there are truck drivers sleepin in the trucks at rest stops for 20 bucks an hour that can barely make their mortgage or rent.......baseball players are treated like royalty in almost all aspects of their lives.......professional baseball players and pity should never be in the same sentence

I find it interesting that Willie has not really caught-on with any other organization in a managerial capacity since being fired by the Mets. Maybe there is a bias against fiery second-basemen? I was not a huge fan of Bobby V. but at least he managed to get us to the Promised Land that one time. Have the Mets actually had a top-notch skipper since Davey Johnson? TC is clearly a place-holder. Are there any hot prospects out there?

@Rob Steven I never quite understood how Omar got that job in the first place. And who could forget his unholy management team, including Tony Bernazard, who once challenged the entire Binghamton team to fight.

@Pete Brilvitch Alderson is a 90s rehash, so it is only appropriate to have a 90s rehash manager. It is tough to watch all the relatively younger managers with real major league experience being hired while the white haired gnome inhabits the Mets dugout.

@Alex Bigelisen Where has the fantasy that Ike is good defender come from? He made a couple of over the rail catches his first year. He is a statue at first, and even though he supposedly has a good arm, continually makes bad throws to second. He is not all that much better than Duda, who is the ultimate stiff.

Nice to see Abreu is already the best hitter in Chicago. Thankfully, the Mets relied on their crack evaluators who spotted all those holes in his swing and saw him as a deficit at first base. Penny wise....gets you Young on the DL and Ike playing first. Gee, think Abreu would look a bit better behind Wright rather than the strike out machine, one trick pony Granderson, who can't hit home runs outside Yankee stadium?

@Kenneth Meltsner I liked WIllie, and it's odd he never got a second shot. I think he's still the Brewers bench coach? He was never a progressive manager and managed by the old outdated "book". But that hardly stops weird hires like Matt Williams, etc.

@Kenneth Meltsner@Rob Steven My understanding is after the whole disaster of Jeff trading Scott Kazmir, the whole fiasco created such a fan uproar that they threw Jim Duquette under the bus. Then Fred trying to protect Jeff reached out to his buddy Selig who pushed Omar on us under the ruse of racial equality aka as "Los Mets". It is shocking that Bud Selig actually got Omar another job with the Padres, although I highly doubt he is allowed anywhere near their checkbook. So I guess we can thank (or not) Bud Selig for Omar, Willie and the Wilpon's still owning our team. (Also Bud is responsible for that lovable Barry Bonds as well).

@Joe Wenzel@Bob PrimoschYeah, isn't it amazing how these people seem to require a viable scapegoat (usually the press)? Just heard where that female coach at Rutgers actually laid blame on a NJ paper for all the school's recent problems. And John Tortorella STILL blames Larry Brooks for getting him fired.

@Victor Triguero@Pete Brilvitch I agree,Terry was definitely a bargain basement type of hire. Probably because the Wilpons (and maybe Sandy too) knew that they weren't going to get a quality manager, on the cheap, who was going to put up with the types of rosters the Mets were going to be fielding. Anybody think Wally Backman would stand quietly for all this BS? yeah, me neither

no willie only lasted 2 season in milwaukee as bench coach, then went to baltimore for one season as 3rd base coach, that was 2011. He signed a contract with ESPN to do limited Baseball Tonight apperances in 2014 and was in NYY camp this spring as a coach.